The World Health Organization’s changing goals and expectations concerning malaria, 1948-2019

Abstract

From its inception, in 1948, the World Health Organization made control of malaria a high priority. Early successes led many to believe that eradication was possible, although there were serious doubts concerning the continent of Africa. As evidence mounted that eradicating malaria was not a simple matter, the malaria eradication programme was downgraded to a unit in 1980. Revived interest in malaria followed the Roll Back Malaria Initiative adopted in 1998. This article presents an historical account of the globally changing ideas on control and elimination of the disease and argues that insufficient attention was paid to strengthening health services and specialized human resources.

Integrated Analysis of Cytokine Profiles in Malaria Patients Discloses Selective Upregulation of TGF-β1, β3, and IL-9 in Mild Clinical Presentation

“…With more than 200 million cases and over 400,000 deaths per year, malaria remains a major World health concern [ 1 ]. Plasmodium parasites raise a complex challenge to the host immune system, requiring a strong Th1 immune response and strong antibody production to control parasitaemia but also for sufficient control of the response to avoid excessive inflammation, a common feature of severe malaria [ 2 ].…”

Bioseguridad estadounidense y la emergencia de la vigilancia epidemiológica global: analizando la genealogía de un problema

“…Es necesario mencionar, adicionalmente, que existen antecedentes relevantes en los aprendizajes de los errores de las campañas globales de erradicación de la malaria de 1950, en tanto se replanteaba el problema de la resistencia por parte de mosquitos vectores del parásito. En particular, las discusiones expertas dentro de la epidemiología se enfocaban a evaluar la generación de mutación y adaptación por parte de mosquitos frente a insecticidas y medicamentos antipalúdicos (verLitsios, 2020; Packard, 2007, pp. 161-167).…”